


dreamless.

by orphan_account



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Gen, also !!! sibling love !!!!!!, but also fluffy good stuff, there's sad stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-22 11:06:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7434477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>her body is cold and pale, but her spirit lingers in the realm of dreams.</p><p>(post birthright, dream!au where elise is dead but her soul lingers in dreams.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	dreamless.

**Author's Note:**

> hello !! this is my first fic in ao3 so i hope this ?? is ok ...

At first, it was challenging to watch the remainder of her siblings be tormented by invisible demons and shadows that latched themselves onto their shoulders, infiltrate into their minds and into their dreams. Even in reality did they seem to mourn deeply for the losses they have suffered. Their retainers ... Marx ... _her_. To watch in a fabricated realm, a sunnier and more peaceful version of Nohr, and being unable to do anything but watch on like it was a sick show was utter agony for the small princess.

How many times has she seen Camilla disembark onto small, nightly walks to the royal cemetery to weep over stone statues shaped in her fallen siblings' figures? How many times has she watched Corrin toss and turn in her sleep, waking up because of the accusing murmurs she heard in her dreams? How many times has she seen Leon -- now the king of Nohr -- break pens in stress, tip over bottles of ink, have his opinions and inputs on serious matters be dismissed and ignored by council members that had no regard of him? How many times has she seen Leon purposely lose sleep to avoid the mocking nightmares? Just how many times has she observed her beloved siblings from the high heavens, resisting the urge to scream and pound on the Earth for them to hear her?

And it occurs to the small princess on a day just like the others ... that her family was now broken beyond repair.

 

* * *

 

Camilla is already gone and has long left the castle of Krakenburg by the time Elise manages to find a way to break into Leon's dreams. If she had remained, perhaps the same outcome would have come as the one in Leo's dream.

Passing through the discovered barrier that separated her from her siblings' dreams and lives was like having cold water being dumped on your head. Elise was shivering, bright purple eyes blinded by the darkness she was met with and ears catching the sound of her heels clicking on an invisible floor. It took her a moment to realize that the cold sensation, the blinding darkness and the echoes were all part of Leon's dream. 

_It's so cold_ ...  _is this what Leon's been feeling this whole time?_

Her heart was frozen, but she could still feel the wrench of it as her mind remembers the many times of distress her dear brother has fallen through. She shakes her head as a poor attempt in vanishing the images from her mind before trudging deeper into the darkness, heels clicking in her wake. 

The darkness was relentless. Whether there were monsters haunting the dark or spirits about to hop at her, she could not see anything but her goal to reach forward. Everything within the eternal darkness that refused to let up was eerie, isolating and  _lonely_. However, it was not completely silent. Ears that have eavesdropped plenty of times behind closed doors pick up the faint sound of a choked sob and voices echoed within the darkness. 

She trudges closer into the darkness, hesitation gripping at her like a handler. The voices and the sobs grow louder the more steps she took forward until they were at earshot.

The sob was strangled and loud, but the voices continued to speak without any regard. The spoken voices echoed, quiet and airy like whispers. Each different timbre of voices spoke in the same tone of emotion:  **DISAPPOINTMENT** or  **SADNESS**. The more that they spoke, the louder the sobs became.

It takes her a moment before she recognizes just  _whose_ choked sobs it was and just  _who_ the voices were directed to. 

Elise has only heard his sob once in her life and she could never forget the sound of it. Her pace fastens until she was sprinting. Perhaps she shouldn't be running recklessly into the grueling darkness. For all she knew, the voices and the sobs could be impersonated by the shadows within. Yet, it sounded so  _real_ , so  _genuine_ ... There was no doubt they were real!

_You're a disappointment._

_You caused them to die._

_You'll never become a good enough king._

_You're unfit to be a king in the first place._

_You're a DISGRACE._

Eventually, she slows to a stop and bends over with her hands on her knees. You'd think that being dead granted you unlimited endurance, but apparently not. Running in heels was never one of her strong suits anyways.

The sobs are right in front of her. It's loud and reverberates through nonexistent walls.

Elise lifts her gaze, beads of sweat rolling down her pale temples. Her bright purple eyes widen and lips part.

_You weren't in time to save them._

_You will never be on time to save anybody._

_You're at fault._

_It's your fault you're so weak!_

There he was. King Leo, the new glory of the dusk kingdom -- Nohr. Even in the darkness, she could discern that he was in shambles, he is a broken king and he howls sobs of agony on his knees before her. It's almost as if the darkness grows even darker, proving it difficult to breathe for even her. 

Her heart that is cold and no longer pulses life into her being clenches at his wretched sobs. Even at life, she has never seen so much weakness from a brother who stood among powerful flames, stuck his nose in historical novels and spoke grandiose words. It was usually the other way around: a wailing princess seeking comfort in the warm arms of a loving brother. Only once has it happened where the positions were flipped, but never did they speak of it afterwards.

The admirable Prince of Nohr could not be seen with weaknesses, of course.

Because of how little she has encountered such a situation, she finds herself unprepared when it comes. A part of her knew that everyone had a weakness to them, a part in their defense they could easily tear down but her brothers being regal and strong princes seemed to blind her from the truth that her cold brother was **human**  too.

Elise realizes as she watched her brother weep, watched as furious and hot tears cascade down rosy cheeks that – _she has never loved him as much as she did now_.

Even she knew this nightmare for him was to come to an end soon. The night was to come to a finale and she only had little time before this realm was to vanish before his sights. She refused to let this night end again for him in utter darkness and damaged self-esteem.

She takes steps forward until she stands right in front of him. She falls to her knees and throws her arms around his neck. His sobs do not cease but his desperate hands find her arms and grip hard, finding the consolation in her figure. Chances were, he didn't even realize it was her holding him. He was accepting all the comfort that he could get from the darkness.

She buries her face into his blonde tresses as his buries into her neck, tears feeling like burns meet her sin. Velvet eyes close, warmth emits through what should be cold and chilly skin. A small smile on her lips as she murmurs into his hair:

" _I’ll always love you, big brother._ "


End file.
